Step Brothers

This movie is dumb, ridiculous, and hilarious! John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell join up again as 40 year old “kids” forced to share a room after their parents decide to marry. Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins star as the parents. Together, the step brothers fight with each other, fight neighborhood bullies, and share a mutual hatred for Ferrell’s little brother, whom you will love to hate. They perfectly portrayed emotionally stunted men who pout and have tantrums and stomp up and down the stairs just like kids. There is plenty of profanity and a few offensive songs, and this is not the kind of movie I would normally enjoy, but I did like it.

Dark Knight

“Dark” being the operative word. I thought the movie was unnecessarily too dark, and the plot too convoluted. I’ve always liked Heath Ledger, but a posthumous Academy Award? I think not. Heath plays an insane criminal who enjoys bringing chaos into the already dangerous Gotham. Christian Bale is back as the caped crusader and Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking – now that was a good movie!) as the new idealist DA who wants to turn Gotham around. It wasn’t a terrible movie, but not nearly as good as the previous Christian Bale effort. Sorry, I prefer Jack Nicholson as a more light-hearted Joker, with a sense of humor. Unfortunately this “comic” book adaptation is dark and depressing with so many characters that I gave up trying to remember everyone’s names. But all the critics seem to love it, so maybe it’s just me. You decide.

Mama Mia

I really enjoyed this one. Only for those who like musicals. Meryl Streep’s daughter is getting married, and she invites the three men who could be her possible fathers. I loved the Greek scenery and I liked the music too, despite the fact that neither Pierce Brosnan nor Colin Firth can carry a tune. The daughter is angelic looking and really sweet – and a good singer too! I thought the two women who played Meryl Streep’s friends were a bit ridiculous, but the rest was good clean fun. A good uplifting movie.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (in 3D)

Brendan Fraser follows after his lost brother’s footsteps via the Jules Verne novel to find himself at the earth’s core, along with his young nephew and a pretty Icelandic mountain guide. I’ll be honest, I never read the book; my Weymouth public school education didn’t include the classics. I will say that they seem to have improved upon 3D visual effects, though the picture still feels shaky. The last time I saw something in 3D was a Friday the 13th back in 1984 or ‘85. They use plastic glasses now instead of the cardboard ones, and the cost is added to the movie ticket! This movie didn’t take advantage of the 3D as much as it could have. The only time the 3D was fully utilized, in my opinion, was during the flying piranha scene – which is the only scene that made me jump out of my seat. It was a fun, cute movie though. The glow-in-the-dark birds were cartoonish and corny, but I found the rest of it to be an enjoyable fantasy, especially for kids.

Hancock

Fun action movie with Will Smith as the reluctant super hero with a drinking problem. Jason Bateman and Charlise Theron also star. I enjoyed it, although I imagine there has to be a sequel since they leave you with unanswered questions regarding Hancock’s origins. Aside from that, the movie is very fun, though probably not for little kids; unless you want them repeating some of the swears – like the little kids sitting near me were doing.

War, Inc.

John Cusack seemed to have a noble idea of portraying war as a business that makes rich companies richer. But the execution of his idea just plain stinks. The movie takes place in a made up country that the US has invaded in order to line the pockets of a Haliburton-like company which is run by a “former vice president”. Cusack is supposed to be an assassin sent to kill the country’s ruler. His “cover” is to act as a representative of the “Haliburton” type company. Hillary Duff plays an oversexed pop star that the company wants to use for PR. Marisa Tomei stars as a reporter who is trying to expose the dirty dealings of the company. Sir Ben Kingsley and Joan Cusack also star. I read an interview where John Cusack says he made the movie into a satire, because the reality is too depressing to watch. I agree with him there, but I’m afraid the movie is just too dumb.